Hollywood's fascination with Mexican outlaws may seem as recent as the drug wars, but it’s not. As two new releases from the Warner Archive Collection show, it dates back to the 1930s, if not earlier.
Best known of the two is 1934’s “Viva Villa,” with an outsized Wallace Beery taking on the role of the larger-than-life outlaw Pancho Villa and Fay Wray and Leo Carillo active as costars.
Also boasting a Mexican flavor is 1936’s “The Robin Hood of El Dorado,” starring Warner Baxter as the celebrated Mexican bandit Joaquin Murietta. The director here is the accomplished William A.